Harry Potter and the Transfiguration Master
by Varius
Summary: HP is in his 7th year at Hogwarts. He must put up with school , relationship, Voldemort and finding Horcruxes at the same time. But help will arrive from somewhere unexpected. Chapter 6 is here, and things are picking up! Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1 One Last Summer

Chapter2 – One Last Summer

Harry Potter looked out of his bedroom window as the sun started to set. Soon the stars would come out, people would be going to sleep, and the owls and other night creatures would come out. Another day back at the Dursleys had come to an end, which was to Harry a double-edged sword. On one hand it meant one day closer to going back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. However; on the other hand it meant one day closer to a victory for Voldemort if he couldn't find the Horcruxes. With thought of the Horcruxes came thoughts of Dumbledore. With thoughts of Dumbledore, his mentor and protector over the last few years, came tears burning in his eyes.

Once again Harry's thoughts went back to the battle in Hoqwarts between the teachers, students and a squad of Death Eaters. They went back to how Snape betrayed them all by killing Dumbledore. With Dumbledore gone, that left Harry alone to figure out the riddle of the Horcruxes. _That's ironic, _thought Harry when memory once again brought him back several years to Tom Riddle, and Ginny Weasley, Ron's baby sister. Thinking of Ginny brought even more tears to his face.

When it came to Ginny his heart was torn into two pieces. Both parts cared deeply for her, but there were two ways of going about Ginny. Either he cut off ties with Ginny so that she wouldn't get hurt by Voldemort. Or he could stay close to her and risk the Dark Lord using her to get to him. Just like Tom Riddle had done all those years ago. It seemed to Harry that it was ages ago that he had first gone to Hogwarts, his true home. He then thought about Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, his two best friends. How could he explain to them that they can't help him, that he has to destroy the Horcruxes on his own? The answer was simple. No matter what he could possibly say or do, both of them would go with him to help. All Harry wanted to do was keep his friends from getting hurt. With the storm that was brewing, it seemed as thought that that was going to be a very difficult task.

Hedwig, Harry snow-white pet owl, screeched out to Harry, indicating that she wanted to be let loose to go and hunt. Harry got up from his perch and walked over to the cage. Quietly he unlocked the lock on the cage and picked her up. Walking back to the window Harry let Hedwig go off into the night. Harry then went and flopped onto his bed and starred at the ceiling. His thoughts went to his most immediate problem. In less than a week he would turn seventeen years old. By wizard law, that would mean he was a man. This was probably the only thing that Mr. Dursley had been pleased to know about Harry. Simply because that meant that he could get rid of Harry for good. He had already told Harry that on his birthday he was expected to be packed and gone before Mr. Dursley woke up that morning. He was going to have to see if the Weasley's would allow him to stay with them for the rest of the summer. But then he had second thoughts.

_Staying with the Weasleys could easily put them in danger,_ Harry thought, _besides, hadn't he put the family in enough danger over the years?_ But where could he possibly go? Where could he hide from Voldemort? He could go to Sirius's old estate, but that may actually be too obvious a move and decided against it. _Where's Hermione when you need her? _Thought Harry. While Harry was contemplating what to do, an owl flew in through the window with a letter for Harry. Harry gave the bird a coin and looked at the letter. He saw that the address was written to him in Ron's handwriting. Opening the letter with anticipation he read the letter and smiled when he was finished reading it. He then read it over again.

_Dear Harry,_

_Hello Harry! How are you? Listen, I know that you're turning 17 soon, and well since the Dursleys know that you'll be a man, I figured that they're going to kick you out. Well, I mean to say that Hermione thinks so. Uh, if they do kick you out my mum says that you are welcome here, of course. Oh, by the way, Ginny says that if you don't come by she well, ah, she will send letters to you everyday explaining what she is doing to me. Harry, she is DEAD SERIOUS. Hermione says that she will help her too! Harry, PLEASE HELP ME!_

_Your Best Friend,_

_Ron Weasley_

_P.S. They REALLY ARE SERIOUS. _

_HELP!_

In some strange way the letter brought a lot of comfort to Harry. For starters it meant that Hermione and Ron where on good friendly terms again. The last thing he needed was a year like last year between those two. Second of all, it meant that Ginny would not let him go as easy as he had hoped. Third, it solved his problem as to where to go when he turned seventeen, as it seemed he wasn't being given a choice. Whether Mrs. Weasley or Ginny took the choice away, he didn't know. Harry drifted off to sleep thinking of Ginny, and what she was going to do to Ron.

Harry woke up the next morning and slowly got dressed and went downstairs to hopefully get something to eat. When he went into the kitchen he found that a banana had been laid out for his breakfast. As he sat down and started to peel it, his Uncle Vernon looked at him with a scowl on his face. Harry saw him out of the corner of his eye and ignored him. He looked across the table at Dudley Dursley. Dudley looked like a small elephant these days. _He really should get help._ Harry thought to himself as he saw his Aunt Petunia get up and start doing the dishes.

Harry had finished his banana by then and got from the table to go back upstairs to his room when Vernon stopped him. Apparently Harry wasn't going to escape his uncles sharp tongue this morning. _I don't care anymore,_ thought Harry, _I won't have to put up with this for much longer._

"Listen boy, in a couple of days you'll turn seventeen. Since according to your worlds law you will be a man. By time I wake up that morning I WANT YOU GONE. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?" Vernon shouted the last part of his early morning retort loud enough for the neighbors to hear.

"Yes I do. I will leave and never look back. Actually, I can't wait to leave this hell-hole." Came Harry's reply as he went up the stairs to his room. It was true, he couldn't wait to get out of here, away from his Aunt and Uncle and his horribly fat cousin. Harry passed the time over the next couple of days packing his things and getting ready to go to the Burrow. Finally the day before his birthday came, and the day seemed to pass on incredibly slowly to Harry. Eventually night fell on 14 Privet Drive, the last night Harry would see at this place.

Two hours before midnight Harry was sitting in his bed twirling his wand around with his fingers, waiting for the sound of the clock that would tell him it was midnight. All of a sudden he sat bolt upright as he just remembered something. When he turned seventeen the spells protecting this place would wear off. It would be easy for Voldemort to attack him _and _the Dursleys. As much as Harry hated to admit it, they were his family. He had to warn them somehow. Knowing that it would be futile to wake up his Aunt and Uncle he decided that he would leave a note pinned on the kitchen table. Then it would be up them what precautions to take. He quickly took out a scrap piece of parchment and scribbled the note. He then cautiously went downstairs and put it on the kitchen table for them to see in the morning. He quickly went back upstairs and into his room shutting the door behind him.

Back in his room he took stock of all of the things that were there and inside of his trunk. Making sure that he had everything that he needed he grabbed Hedwigs cage and set it beside him as he sat on top of his trunk. It was an incredibly boring final hour for Harry, just sitting there staring of into space. He tried his best not to think of Dumbledore, Ginny, Horcruxes, Ron, Hermione or anything that about Hogwarts. At last, he heard the the chime from the clock downstairs signaling that it was midnight. _At last,_ Harry thought as he picked up his trunk with one hand and Hedwigs cage in the other. He coiuld use magic legally now, and the first spell that he cast was a feather wieght charm on the trunk. With that he went downstairs one final time and out of the front door. Without looking back or thinking twice Harry Potter left Number 14 Privet Drive for the last time.


	2. Chapter 2 Trouble Across the Sea

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any thing that is associated with the books. J.K. Rowling does. Except for the characters that I have created.

Chapter1 – Trouble Across the Sea

Thousands of miles away from Harry, thousands of miles away from Hogwarts, Voldemort's evil could be felt. It wasn't only in England and the rest of Europe that felt the effects of the war, but in nearly every other country in the world. America was no exception. Most European wizards and witches regarded their American counterparts with wariness. The European wizarding community believed that the American wizards where all like cowboys or something to that nature. Of course while their prejudice could hold true to some of the American wizards, many where just like the rest of the worlds magic population.

In fact America had its own school of witchcraft and wizardry, Woodshen, named after the schools founder Herbert Woodshen. Herbert Woodshen was also the first wizard to go to America in the mid 1600's. While not as big or prominent as the schools in Europe and other older countries, it still trained many young witches and wizards.

When Voldemort had first attacked and tried to gain power, Europe wasn't the only place to feel the pressure. There were many Death Eaters in America that faithfully served the Dark Lord and did his will. There were several battles between the American Death Eaters, their allied and the good American wizards. Since there weren't very many wizards in America, and there were many more Death Eaters, they were fighting a losing war with the Dark Powers. It wouldn't be long before the Death Eaters would overrun the American wizards when all of a sudden the Death Eaters disappeared. It wasn't long before they had learned what had happened, that Harry Potter had defeated the Dark Lord, and he was only an infant still. So they set about the task of rebuilding what was destroyed.

Life returned to normal, as normal as they could possibly be at least. There was the problem of a large number of orphan children, whose parents had fallen victim to Death Eaters, werewolves, or the Inferius. Most of the children were able to find adoptive parents, but not all of them. Those who were unable to be adopted by parents were adopted by the Woodshen School. There those children lived during the school year then went to live in a school owned and protected building during the summer months. Captured Death Eaters and Werewolves were sent to Great Britain for trial by the Ministry of Magic and many were sent to Azkaban.

After several years of peace, the Death Mark was once again seen in the skies in Great Britain at the Quidditch Championship and the news quickly reached American ears. IT wasn't long afterwards that Death Eaters were once again seen running around causing chaos, though they were not great in numbers. Two years after the first Dark Mark was seen, Death Eaters were causing destruction in mass numbers. There were now open battles between Death Eaters and the hitwizards, who were the American version of the Aurors of Great Britain. The Woodshen School officials decided that the school was no longer safe for the students to learn. It was decided that the students should be sent away to continue their education in safety. However, with the recent attacks by the Death Eaters many families had gone into hiding, bringing their children with them. There were perhaps twenty or so students left in the school. Most of those were orphans from the recent attacks, while there were still some of them that had been orphans from the first war with Voldemort.


	3. Chapter 3 Something New

Chapter 3 is here! Things are starting to pick up, I promise.

Chapter 3 – The Start of Something New

With a spring in his step Harry walked down the road for a ways. He didn't feel like apparating to the Burrow just yet, as he wanted to enjoy his new freedom in the calm night air for a few minutes. He eventually made his way to the park where he sat down on one of the park benches. When he sat down Harry couldn't help but think of the last several times that he had left the Dursley prison of a home. They had been chaotic, but fun and adventurous. This time it was rather uneventful, even slightly disappointing. Shaking all thoughts of disappointment, Harry stood and was about apparate to the Burrow when he heard his name being called.

"Harry! Harry! Where the bloody hell are you? Harry!" Harry easily recognized the voice of his best and very first friend, Ron Weasley. Smiling to himself, Harry almost kicked himself for not realizing that his friends would come looking for him at the Dursleys. Harry started to walk towards Ron.

"Ron! Keep your voice down! You'll wake the whole neighborhood yelling like that!" said a second voice. Harry recognized it as his second best friend, Hermione Granger, the know-it-all, whose only friends for a long time were Ron and Harry. Smiling even bigger now that he realized that the two were really on speaking terms again, he silently approached the both of them.

"Both of you make enough noise to wake the whole bloody neighborhood!" whispered Harry behind the both of them. He had never seen either one of them jump so high before. When both of them turned around to see who it was that had snuck up on them like that, and they saw Harry there, Harry saw on their faces relief which turned into anger, which turned into happiness then anger again. Harry figured that he was lucky that looks couldn't kill or else the look that Ron was giving him would strike him stone dead. Then the look on Hermione's face would have frightened Voldemort himself.

"Harry Potter! You scared me half to death! You're lucky that I just don't curse you right here and now!" Yelled Hermione. Harry just smiled to himself.

"I missed you to Hermione," Harry hugged both of them before continuing "Sorry that I didn't wait at the Dursleys for you guys. I just couldn't stay there any longer than I had to. I'm sorry for scaring you like that. I've never seen you jump you two jump so high before." He thought about telling them about his worries about Voldemort attacking that night, but he didn't want to worry his friends.

"It's alright mate. We managed to find, or rather you found us!" said Ron, as he finally recovered from his fright. He was now smiling too. Hermione still had a scowl on her face.

"By the way, happy birthday! I almost forgot in all of the commotion." Said Ron. At this Hermione managed to brighten up as well.

"Happy birthday Harry! It's alright, I'll live. But enough chatting for now! Let's get back to the Burrow before Mrs. Weasley has a fit!" said Hermione.

"Uh, Hermione, Ron what if I wasn't going to back to the Burrow?" Ron and Hermione stopped in their tracks.

"Harry, listen to me. If you don't come back to the Burrow, Ginny is going to terrorize me for the rest of my life. She will terrorize me, my wife when I get married and my kids, then my grandkids! She WILL torture me!" Ron pleaded with Harry, Harry heard in his voice that he wasn't lying. And given the source of the threat Harry didn't doubt it for a second.

"Ron, don't worry I'm going to the Burrow. I just wanted to hear what Ginny had in store for you if I didn't go back! Well let's go ahead and apparate to the Burrow in the yard?" Both Ron and Hermione nodded at this suggestion from Harry. "Alright. Let's go then." With that the three of them disappeared into the night with a loud pop. Within moments the three of them where standing in front of the old crumbling house that was the Burrow. To most people it looked like an old near-ruined house, but to Harry, it was a place where he was accepted by people who cared about him, it was, to him, home.

"Well, it looks as though the went to bed. I don't see any lights on. Let's be quiet as we go in." Ron noted as they started for the door. Ron held the door open as Hermione went in first, and then Harry dragging his trunk behind him. When Harry got into the house Ron followed him, softly closing the door behind him.

"I can't see a bloody thing Ron! _Lumos_!" Harry said softly. His wand sprang to life by emitting a source of light form the tip. He held his wand up to see where he was going when all of a sudden he was tackled by something. Then the lights in the house sprang to life.

"Happy Birthday Harry!" was the next thing that Harry heard. Looking at his assailant, well assailants, he recognized both Fred and George Weasley, Ron older brothers who were twins. They were also the family trouble makers, but there was never a dull moment when the two of them were around. Fred and George hauled Harry to his feet and slapped him rather forcefully on the back.

"Happy birthday you grown-up man! Here is a reward for becoming a man!" said Fred as George pulled a long brown thing out of his pocket and shoved it in Harry's mouth. Before Harry could protest against what he recognized now as a cigar, Fred had pulled out a match and lighted it. Within seconds there was a loud pop and smoke filled the room as the cigar tip exploded.

"We got the idea from some muggles, and it is a very clever idea if I do say myself!" George stated wit a lot of pride.

"FRED AND GEORGE WEASLEY! THAT IS ENOUGH! Harry has barley walked into the door and your already harassing the poor boy like he was your brother! Harry dear, welcome back." Harry looked thankfully to Molly Weasley, Ron's mother, as she said that. With that Harry gave her a hug and said hello. He then gave his hellos to Arthur Weasley, Ron's dad, and Ron's other brothers Bill and Charlie. To his mild surprise, and relief, he didn't see Bill's fiancé, Fleur Delacour, anywhere. Never before did Ron feel as happy or comfortable as when he was with this family of redheaded wizards. His eyes then fell on a certain little redheaded girl, to whom Harry had lost his heart last year. He couldn't help but smile his biggest smile of the night when he saw her. Regardless of what he said or did, he couldn't hide his feelings for Ginny Weasley. Ginny didn't leave a doubt on Harry's mind as to the state of her feelings when she ran and jumped into his arms giving him a big hug a quick kiss on the cheek. After Ginny let go of him, Harry looked around to see if anyone had noticed the kiss. No one seemed to have noticed.

"Hey, Harry! Time to open your presents, mate!" yelled Ron, seemingly to be impatient to do that particular part of any birthday. Harry decided not to make Ron wait any longer for him. So he went and sat down on the couch with Ron on one side of him and Hermione on the other. He then started to open his presents. From Fred and George he got a bag full of joke items from their joke shop, including a small box of the exploding cigars. Bill and Charlie had gotten him a nice pair of boots that where made out of tough dragon skin. Hermione had given him two books, one was entitled _Non-verbal Spells Revealed_, and _Occlumency for those who are Challenged_. Harry figured that both books would come in quite handy, and in thanks gave her a hug and a 'Thanks'. Ron gave Harry a small set of wizard chess and a book on Quidditch. Both objects he figured would give him some relief from the days that would lie ahead of him.

"Mate, now I can beat you at chess anytime anywhere you like!" exclaimed Ron after Harry said thank you to Ron.

"We'll see Ron, we'll see." Answered Harry. Then came one last present. When he saw it Harry almost broke down into tears. For their present, Mr. And Mrs. Weasley had out Harry's name on their clock.

"Thank you vary much, Mr. And Mrs. Weasley. I…I…couldn't ask for anything…" Harry managed to choke out before being caught in one of Mrs. Weasley's crushing embraces that he had come to love.

"Harry, dear, to us, to all of us you _are_ part of this family. You have been ever since we first meet and you befriended Ron. Both you and Hermione are like an extra son and daughter to me. Besides Harry, without you I would be missing half of my family!" said a crying Mrs. Weasley. After being let loose Harry looked at the clock again and saw that Hermione's name had been added to the clock as well. After this they broke down and started to eat a delicious cake that Mrs. Weasley had made. While they ate, Harry noticed that Ginny was being unusually quite, and noted that she hadn't given him a birthday present. _Maybe she HAS given up on me_, Harry wondered as he finished his cake. After the cake had been eaten, Mrs. Weasley decided that it was time for everyone to go to bed. Harry followed Ron to his room, which was where he customarily slept at the Weasley house. Before going into the room they both turned and said goodnight to Hermione and Ginny.

Ron fell asleep within seconds of lying on his bed, but Harry before he could drift off into sleep, had some urgent business to take care of. On his way to the bathroom he nearly ran into Ginny. When he saw her he smiled, but he also couldn't help but think that she had been waiting for him. For a moment they just stared at one another, then Ginny pulled Harry down to her and kissed him for what seemed like an eternity of heavenly bliss to Harry. _Okay, so she still has feelings for me_, was all that Harry thought at that moment, and to his surprise, he was overcome with joy.

"Ginny, I _missed_ you so much. Now that, that was a great way to top off this birthday I must say." Harry told her.

"Harry, I missed you too. You can't get rid of me that easily. Whatever you plan on doing, you better count on me, because I'm going with you. I don't care what you say."

"But, Ginny, listen to me. I love you. I love you with all of my heart. I couldn't bear it if you got hurt, or worse. I told you that at the end of term. Voldemort has a tendency to use people close to me to get to me. If he uses you again…"

"I remember what you said Harry, but I guess that you don't remember what I said. I don't care. Harry, you can keep up with this argument, but you won't win. I've made my decision." Ginny glared at Harry when she said this. Harry sighed, and admitted defeat.

"Alright Gin, just you have to promise me one thing though.

"What is that, Harry?"

"That you will be careful, and if I tell you to run, hide or apparate away, you will. Alright?" Harry couldn't help but notice that he told Ginny exactly what Dumbledore had told him when they went to find the Horcruxe. Ginny sighed, obviously worried about what he said.

"I promise Harry." Ginny said after a moment of thought.

"Well, uh, Ginny, did you ever tell your parents…well…about….well, you know, about, uh, us?" Harry asked this nervously.

"Well, no I didn't. I kind of left that little detail out of my what I told mum about my year. I _do _plan on telling them, sometime. Now, I want to give you the rest of your birthday present…" With that all discussion for the night ended. When the two finally parted they reluctantly trudged off to bed. Harry climbed into his bed exhausted. As he lay down he heard Ron sit up.

"About time you got back. Where did you go?" Harry heard Ron say, he couldn't see it, but Harry sensed that Ron had a smile on his face.

"I went to the bathroom. That was all."

"Right. So what was all that noise I heard out there? Some sort of weird sucking noise, some smacking…HEY!" Ron was interrupted when a pillow caught him full in the face. "Ok, ok. At least she'll stop hounding me about you now. Good night suck face." Another pillow was all the reply that Ron got from Harry.


	4. Chapter 4The Wedding of many Proportins

-This wedding may be a little different than some people imagine it. I got tired of seeing the same old wedding over and over again. It was defiantly fun to write.

Chapter 4 - The Wedding of many Proportions

Harry slept peacefully throughout the night and awoke the next morning to a bright sun shining in his face. He sat up in bed and looked over his surroundings, temporarily forgetting that he was at the Weasley home, and that he was seventeen years old. He got out of bed and changed into his clothes and made his way downstairs where he saw everyone starting to eat breakfast. Both Mrs. Weasley and Ginny where the first ones to notice Harry coming down, but Mrs. Weasley spoke first,

"Good morning Harry! I was just about to call you for breakfast. Come sit down and have some pancakes now." Harry smiled his reply and took a seat at the table, between Ron and Hermione, a few places away from Ginny. Ginny didn't say anything to Harry, and Harry wondered why she didn't say anything to him. But then the memory of last night came back to him in full force and he went red in the cheeks. He started to eat before anyone noticed, but Ron did. All through breakfast Ron kept making wierd slurping noises, which Harry clearly understood what it meant, but Ron got a very confused look from Hermione. Ginny also heard the noises, she also understood what they meant and gave Ron a glare that Harry was glad he wasn't receiving, but Ron took no notice of it.

"Ron, would cut out the bloody noises? It's causing me to loose my appetite!" Fred said as Ron made another sound.

"Yeah, what are those sounds supposed to mean anyways?" asked Fred's twin brother George.

"Well," Ron started but then noticed the look that Ginny gave him and continued, "well, uh, you see...that was the sound Harry was making in his sleep last night and I'm giving him a hard time about it." Fred and George bought it, but the lie clearly didn't fly with Hermione, who then figured out what the noises meant. Breakfast continued without another problem as talk at the table turned to the more favorable subject of Quidditch.

It wasn't long before the meal ended and everyone got up from the table to leave. Just before everyone stopped them Mrs. Weasley stopped them at the door.

"Hold on now everyone, with the wedding next week, you all need to stay and help clean the place up and straighten things up, set up the yard and start organizing everything! So, Harry, Ron would you please start by cleaning up the yard? You'll need to do it without magic as to get everything. Ginny Hermione, would you please start cleaning the downstairs? FRED AND GEORGE WEASLEY GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT! You can start by helping me make the table decorations since you are so anxious to leave the work. Charlie, could you please help me in the kitchen? Bill, go find something to do." After that everyone started to do their respective chores. For the whole next week, Harry, Ron, and Hermione couldn't do anything except clean. Finally at the end of the week, the day for the wedding had finally arrived.

On the morning of the wedding Harry and Ron awoke before sunrise and got dressed in their normal clothes for a quick breakfast. They went downstairs to find a very exhausted, but rather excited Mrs. Weasley. She have them a half hearted good-morning and told them what they could eat and that she was going to take a quick nap. As the two boys where eating they where joined by Ginny and Hermione. For the first time all week the four of them where let alone for awhile, much to their relief. They all greeted each other, but not much conversation ensued, at least until Ron asked a question.

"So, Harry, Ginny, why haven't you told Mum about...well, you know?" asked Ron after a mouth full of food. Harry, nearly choked on his bite of eggs and Ginny looked, surprised Harry noticed after recovering from his eggs. Harry didn't know what to say, and was grateful when Ginny gave him an explanation.

"Ron that is none of your business! Anyways, can you imagine what mum might think?" came the explanation from Ginny. Ron smiled as he said,

"Oh, yes I can imagine what would happen! She'd say 'What! The Great Harry Potter and my only daughter? Together? OH this is..."

"So that would explain those weird noises I heard from the hallway last week when Harry came back!" Harry spit out the juice that he was drinking when he heard that voice. Half scared to see who it was, Harry slowly turned his head around. The person who interrupted Ron had been Bill. Harry at first felt relief that it _wasn't_ Mr. or Mrs. Weasley, but then felt very nervous. He had always been secretly very worried what would happen to him when Ginny older brothers found out that he had taken a liking to their baby sister. Harry managed to put a half smile on his face, then turned to look at Ginny. Ginny's face had turned an incredible shade of red, even redder than her hair.

"Don't worry you two, your secret will be safe with me. But I do agree with Ron, she will go insane with joy when she finds out. Fred, George and Charlie might try and kill you though. Though that would be something to brag about, having the one and only Harry Potter as a brother-in-law..." Bill let his thought trail off as he walked out of t he kitchen with a couple pieces of bread. Ron started to go off on the brother-in-law thing, but Ginny shut him up by holding up a knife, too afraid to find out what she might do with it, Ron let the subject drop. When breakfast was finished, Harry and Ron went to find Bill to help him get ready, and Ginny and Hermione went off to find Fleur.

Harry and Ron found a very nervous Bill in his room, putting a lot of effort into not shaking. Charlie was trying to reassure him that everything was going to be fine.

"But what if she doesn't show up? What if I'm left standing on the altar all be myself? What if she ran away with some other guy? There's still time to..." All of a sudden Bill could no longer speak. Charlie looked in his mouth, and it looked as though his tongue was stuck to the top of his mouth. Charlie turned and Harry and Ron standing at the door, the former with his wand held out. Charlie starred at the wand then at Harry, then laughed. Bill looked slightly panicked, though he finally registered what had happened to him.

"Harry, what did you do to Bill?" asked Charlie when he had regained his composure.

"Well, I figured that you had been listening to that for a while now, and saw that you where trying to talk some sense into him. So I shut him up to try and make our job easier." responded Harry with a smile, secretly praising the langlock spell. That spell could simply so wonders.

"Good thinking Harry! Now listen to us Bill. Fleur is here to marry you because she loves you. She isn't going to runaway, or else we would be hearing Ginny right now trying to hex the poor girl. Things will be fine, I promise." When Charlie siad this, Bill appeared to calm down a bit and Harry released him from the spell. When they had all gotten dressed in their dress robes, they went downstairs to start greeting the guests that had arrived early. Harry saw all kinds of people, both who he didn't know and some who he knew really well. Among those that he did recognize where Tonks, Lupin, Mad-Eye Mooney, Professor McGonagal, Professor Flitwick, and then to his great surprise he saw the Parvati twins. Rather, he saw their parents first, talking warmly with Bill. Then he heard Ron curse under his breathe. Behind the twins came none other than Lavender Brown, Ron's girlfriend from the previous year at Hogwarts.

"What's she doing here?" asked Harry.

"What haven't you heard? Lavenders parents where attacked by Death Eaters a couple of weeks ago! Nobody seen them since and she went to live with the Parvati's. Bill and their Dad are friends, but I guess I half hoped that they wouldn't some. Oh well,..." Harry was shocked to here about this. Of course he could relate to what Lavender was going through right now having lost his parents to Voldemort when he was a baby.

"Come on Ron, let's go talk to them. Oh quit being a baby!" Harry told Ron when he got a sour look on his face. Harry and Ron maneuvered around several groups of people to get to the Parvati twins and Lavender. When they saw each other they greeted each other, but Lavender didn't even look at Ron. Harry got the impression that she was still hurt by Ron leaving her earlier this year. They started to talk for a while, Harry giving Lavender his condolences about her parents; she thanked him for it, though Harry saw tears well up in her eyes at the mention of her parents. Just then Bill came over and grabbed Harry by the arm and dragged him away from the group, leaving Ron alone with the three girls. Harry got the impression that Bill had a problem. A big problem. When they had gotten away from everyone Bill turned to look at Harry.

"Harry, listen. I think I forgot to mention this to you, and I know no one else told you, but I never asked you about it. It slipped my mind some how! I need you to be one of my groomsmen. It's really easy. All you have to do is escort one of the bridesmaids down the aisle and then stand off to the side. Don't worry, I'll let escort one of Fleurs friends from Beauxbatons!" At the mention of this Harry went pale. What would Ginnt thin of that? She'd kill him on the spot! Seeing Harry's reaction, Bill started to laugh. "That, Harry, was payback for gluing my tongue to my mouth this morning! No don't worry you'll be able to escort Ginny down the aisle, who knows this might be practice for you one day! Thanks Harry!" Bill ran off laughing back to the living room of the Burrow to greet someone who just arrived. Harry just watched him leave. Then Harry realized that he never gave Bill an answer. _Well, looks like I'm part of this, whether I like it or not_, thought Harry as he made his way back to the living room. Before long it was almost time for the ceremony to begin.

The actual ceremony was going to take place in the yard, and there what looked like three hundred chairs set up to accommodate all of the guests. At the rear of the ceremony area stood a large white tent. There Fleur was hidden away in the back behind several curtains with her bridesmaids. Harry, Ron, Fred, George and Charlie stood in the back as well waiting for the bridesmaids so that they could begin the ceremony. Bill had already assumed his place at the altar, next to the wizard who would be presiding over the ceremony. Finally the bridesmaids came out from behind the curtain. Harry felt his jaw drop and his heart skip a beat when he saw Ginny. She was incredibly beautiful in her bridesmaid dress and with her hair down in some fancy curls. Harry approached her and took her by the arm, and when no one was looking, kissed her on the cheek. He was still incapable of saying anything to her at his point. He looked around when he and Ginny got into their place. In front of them both Fred and George had a girl from Beauxbatons as did Charlie who stood behind them. Charlie was going to be escorting the Maid of Honor as he was the Best Man. Also right behind he and Ginny, Harry was surprised to see that Ron was arm-arm with Hermione. Smiling, he turned his attention back to his own escort as the ceremony started. The groomsmen and bridesmaids made it down the aisle without a problem, and then in came Fleur. Both Harry and Ron jaws dropped again when they saw her. She was incredibly beautiful in her wedding dress. Every man in the audience couldn't help but notice her beauty, and it earned some of them some bad looks from their wives or girlfriends. Finally Fleur made it to the altar and the presiding wizard started to speak. Harry looked at Ginny and saw that she was looking dreamily at Bill and Fluer, then at him. Somehow Harry could tell that she wasn't thinking of _this_ wedding, but some future one. Her wedding. Harry gulped, and then saw the same look on Hermione's face when she looked at Ron. Harry was slightly confused at this, but then it clicked. Harry smiled to himself and looked out in the audience. The speaking wizard was now about half way down with his speech, but no one in the audience was paying attention to what he was saying. They where all looking up in the sky at something. Naturally. Harry followed their gaze and saw that Ron was looking up as well.

In the sky Harry noticed maybe fifteen are so figures flying in the. Looking carefully he saw that they where all witches and wizards on broomsticks. Nothing too unusual Harry thought, but then noticed something weird. All of the flyers looked younger than he and Ron! All of a sudden they all stopped in mid-air, right above the wedding. By now even the presiding priest, Bill and Fleur where looking at this group of flyers. Harry saw one them , the one in the lead say something to the witch behind him and point North. Then all of the flyers sped off, all of them except for two of them. Those two stayed behind and where facing West. The one who had been in the lead was wearing some kind of funny wide-brim hat that went all the way around the part his head went in. They appeared to be waiting for something. After they sat there for a while the wizard resumed speaking. Finally, he said those words to close the ceremony, "You may now kiss the bride!" Bill eagerly obeyed this command and then he and Fleur ran down the aisle, or rather Bill carried her down the aisle. As they went down the aisle everyone who had been watching the ceremony started cheering and clapping as the new couple went past them. It was finally time to start the reception party.

With great food and great music, the reception, Harry decided, was the best part of the whole wedding. It had been almost half an hour ago that the two wizards stopped in mid air, and they where still there when Harry looked up, but this time he noticed two small dots way out in the East, moving towards them. Harry figured that those two where stragglers from the group and went to find Ginny. He figured he might as well try and get one dance with her that night. Harry found Ginny, Ron and Hermione sitting with the Parvati twins and Lavender. There was one empty chair left at the table next to Ginny and Harry quickly filled it.

"About time you get here." Ginny whispered to Harry.

"Sorry, but I couldn't figure out what it was that I wanted to eat first!" Harry offered up as an excuse.

"Yeah, but Ron went up at the same time as you and got back here a lot earlier than you!"

"Ron didn't have to think about what he was going to eat, he just took some of _everything_." Harry smiled as though that ended the argument and he was victorious, but Ginny wouldn't let that stand. She had to get the last word in.

"Ron is a pig though." was all that Ginny could come up with. Harry turned to see Ron busy eating and decided that he should do the same, as all of the girls at the table where chatting away like a gaggle of hens. Harry was surprised that Hermione was even participating in the conversation, and she actually seemed to be enjoying it too. All of a sudden everyone froze as they heard a deep, loud, scream from above. Harry thought that it was more like a whoop than anything. He looked up to see the source of the noise and saw the wizard in the big hat take out a wand, as did his companion and sped towards the two oncoming dots. By now could almost make out the two incoming flyers, both of whim had their wands drawn. All of a sudden one of them pointed his wand into the sky and the Death Mark appeared in the sky. The two incoming flyers where Death Eaters then, Harry thought. Some people screamed, mostly girls but Harry heard a few men, but mostly people seemed rooted in the spot anxious to see the outcome of the battle. When the four flyers came within a hundred feet of each other, Harry could see spells being cast back and forth until they met up with each other. Then the four mixed together and then split of into pairs. Pairs of flying duelers. The one in the funny hat went one way following one Death Eater, while his companion was being chased by the other Death Eater. These two made their way directly over the reception when they finally started casting spells at each other. The funny hat wearing wizards companion Harry now saw was wearing a baseball hat with the brim turned backwards. But Harry gaze was drawn to the wizard wearing the big hat and the duel he was fighting. The wizard was pulling off some pretty impressive tricks on his broom. Harry watched as he narrowly dodged a stupefy spell but was then hit with an expelling charm. The wizard's wand went flying and he went after it. All of a sudden the wand flew back to his hand and the wizard climbed to rejoin the battle. _He's pretty good with silent spells_, Harry remarked as the wizard cast his expelling charm at the Death Eater. It hit the Death Eater and his wand went flying. However the Death Eater couldn't recover the wand before it went into the trees, and the Death Eater ran away as fast as he could.

Harry blinked and looked above him at the other two combatants. The wizard in the baseball hat wasn't faring very well. Harry saw him get hit with an expelling charm and the wand landed in the dirt not far away from the table that he was at. By now they where low enough to the ground for Harry to see their faces. The Death Eater smiled as he pointed his wand at the wand-less wizard. Harry saw the other wizard flying as fast as he could towards them, but he saw that it wouldn't be fast enough. Both Harry and Ron drew their wands at the same time, having the same thought and pointed them at the Death Eater.

"_Stupefy!_" Harry shouted, casting the stupefaction spell at the Death Eater. Harry saw Ron cast the expelling charm at the same time. Harry's spell hit the broom while Ron's spell managed to hit the Death Eater. But it was too late. The Death Eater had set the other wizards broom on fire with an _incendio_ spell. The broom quickly burst into flames and the wizard jumped off the broom. He was falling, and falling fast towards the ground. HE was heading straight for the table that Harry, Ron and the others where sitting. Harry noticed that he was going to land right on top of Lavender if she didn't move away.

"LAVENDER! MOVE!" shouted Ron as he had noticed the same thing a second before Harry. But it seemed as though she was rooted in cement at the spot. She was watching the falling wizard with a look of absolute fear on her face. Harry looked back up and saw the other wizard diving towards his friend. Maybe thirty feet off the ground he grabbed his friend by the collar and held on for dear life. He managed to slow the descent of the falling wizard, but his speed was already to great to stop all the way. Seeing this the wizard in the funny hat managed to move his friend to a spot to where he wouldn't hurt anybody. But in doing so he lost his balance and fell of his own broom. He landed with a loud thud right at Lavenders feet. Fortunatly he had managed to only fall about ten feet, but he had landed flat on his back, as did his friend. The two wizards managed to stand up, with a great deal of effort, but they managed to get to their feet. Everyone was starring at these two wizards with both admiration and fear. Admiration because the two of them had defeated two Death Eaters, but fear because of what they looked like. Both of them where bleeding from the face and had numerous cuts on their arms and hands. Their faces where covered in blood, in fact the one by Lavender had an eye that was swollen shut. They where both thin and pale from hunger. Harry looked into the eyes of the one that landed close next to Lavender, his hat now hung around his neck by a cord that was attached to the brim. Harry looked into his eyes and clearly saw that he was exhausted. The strangest thing Harry noticed was that both of them where his age! Harry watched as the wizard turned to Lavender.

"All you alright?" he asked in a hoarse, scratchy voice.

"Yes, yes I'm fine. Thanks to you." Lavender managed to reply

"Good." He said as he smiled, white teeth showing through his blood soaked face. His eyes then closed and he fell to the ground. Lavender screamed and started to cry.

"JOHN!" Harry turned to see the wizards friend yell. He took two steps forward and also fell flat on his face and didn't move a muscle.


	5. Chapter 5Visitors come and Gone

-Not the most exciting chapter in the world, but some necessary plot advances, foreshadowing and the bit. Besides, also a little humor too.

Chapter 5 – Visitors Come and Gone

Harry stared at the form that was lying at the ground next to sobbing Lavenders feet. In the past ten minutes he had witnessed some of the strangest things he had ever seen, well at least in the past month or two. He had seen a flying duel, a broom burst into flame and its rider _jump off_, then another wizard catching another in the air, pretty impressive flying and now this. Somehow the wizard had remained conscious enough to see if the girl he had saved was alright. This guy is something else Harry thought to himself. By now people where starting to help the two wizards into the house. Even though this was the first wedding that he had ever been to, Harry had a feeling that normally, things didn't go this way. As the two wizards where being carried into the house, they actually started to wake up. Those two just didn't stop amazing Harry and the others that where watching them. Seeing them start to wake up, Harry, Ron, Hermione and their friends started to walk over to them. Harry and the others arrived to here them make a request.

"Please ma'am, could we just have some water and two brooms? We will gladly pay you whatever you want for them." Harry saw the wizard in the big hat, which was now back on his head say. His friend just stood behind them. Ron noticed that they where talking to his mother.

"Harry, where do you suppose they're from anyways? And what the bloody hell is that on his head?" Ron whispered to Harry. Harry shook his head that he didn't know, but Hermione chipped in an idea.

"I have no idea where they could be from, but that hat he's wearing is, I believe, a _cowboy hat_ is what I think it's called. I've never seen one before except in pictures. And the only place that I know of where people where those is in, well America. But, what would someone from America being doing here?" Asked Hermione.

"You mean that they could possibly be bloody Yanks?" asked Ron. Harry ignored the comment and added his own.

"I'm not sure why they'd be here either, but I wouldn't be surprised if it had something to do with those two Death Eaters that where chasing them."

"But why would only two be chasing them, after a group of at least twenty?" Hermione wondered aloud.

"Well, did you get a good look at them. It looked as though they where all younger than us! What could a bunch of kids be doing that winds them up being chased by Death Eaters?" said Harry.

"Do you mean that they could be Yanks?" asked Ron again.

"Yes, Ron they could be. But the chances of that are almost zero. Probably just some guy who probably visited relatives or friends in America. There is no way they could have flown across _an ocean on brooms_." Hermione answered Ron's question and put an emphasis in the last sentence that indicated that that was that and that part of the discussion was over. But before they could continue their debate, Harry felt a tap on his shoulder and he turned around. It was the wizard who Harry believed was named John.

"Hello sir, and excuse me ladies," he tipped his hat to the girls in the group and turned his attention back to Harry, "but are you perhaps Harry Potter?" he asked.

"Why, yes I am. Why?" responded Harry. He had not expected the guy to come and speak to him.

"I was just curious. My friend, Derek here saw your scar and pointed it out to me. So you are the hero that is supposed to defeat Voldemort, eh?" he asked the question point-blank as though it where an everyday matter. However, Harry and the others easily detected a hint of seriousness in his voice. Fortunately for Harry he didn't have to answer as Mrs. Weasley came back out carrying some water. She cautiously approached the two mysterious flyers and handed the water to them.

"Here you go. I don't have any spare brooms that I can give you. But if you come with me into the house, I can show to a place where you can get some new brooms."

"Thank you ma'am. Just one question though. What did we and our visitors interrupt?" John asked Mrs. Weasley.

"Um, well this is actually a wedding. Well the ceremony is over, but it is now time for the reception." replied Mrs. Weasley.

"Oh. Could you please give our sincerest apologies to the bride and groom then? Here, this should," John reached into his pocket, pulled out a bag and started to dig in it, "pay for any damages. And this is our gift to the new couple. It ain't much but it is all we can give. Could you please take us to the shop then? We really need to rejoin the rest of our group." Mrs. Weasley had barely heard him as she looked what was in her hand. He had given her two groups of fifty galleons. She started to protest that what they gave her for damages was far too much, but they wouldn't hear a word of it. She nodded and motioned for the boys to follow her. A few minutes later she came back out of the house without the two strangers.

"Well, I sent them to Diagon Alley with the Floo network. I hope that they can find their friends from there. How did those two boys defeat those Death Eaters? And in the air no less? Well, they're gone now, and I don't think that we'll be seeing them again anyways. Time to continue the party!" At those words, people seemed to forget that something weird had happened and went about the party with renewed vigor. At one point Harry looked up into the sky and saw two wizards on broomsticks over the house. They stopped, looked around and then sped North. He then looked for Ginny, as she visiting with some of her cousins. As he went looking for her he saw Lavender standing off to the side, starring at place in the sky that the two flying wizards had disappeared. Thinking it best to leave her alone he continued to search for Ginny. He still wanted that dance, but he never got much chance to look for her as he was constantly being talked to by strangers and being introduced to people by Mr. Weasley.

Harry finally managed to find Ginny after he thought that he met everybody at the party. She was talking to a couple of girls that where friends of Fleur's. He stepped to her side silently and waited until the conversation was done and the girls had left. Ginny turned around to look at him.

"So, I've seen that you've been meeting everyone at the party Harry." She asked.

"Yeah, I missed too. I think that I have everyone here. I'm really getting tired of being around so many people who know me, but I don't know them."

"Well, I thought that you might say something like that once you finally found me. How about we get away from the crowd for a while?" Harry instantly abandoned the idea of a dance for some alone time with Ginny. They navigated their way out of the party area and around to the back of the house, where they ran into the second big surprise of the day. As the two rounded the corner of the house they saw Ron and Hermione so close to each other that Harry wouldn't be able to squeeze a piece of parchment between them. Quickly they ducked back around the corner of the house before Ron or Hermione could spot them.

Harry and Ginny looked at each other with huge grins on their faces. They both sneaked a peek around the corner and then ducked back. Harry then remembered something from his sixth year at Hogwarts.

"I lost ten galleons because of those two. How about you?" Harry asked Ginny.

"I lost five. Just because those were too thick to admit they had feelings for each other and start dating, we had to lose fifteen galleons between the two of us. There will be revenge!" Ginny told Harry with a little more than a hint of anger in her voice.

"Don't worry Ginny. I've got an idea that will make up for it! Just stay here for a minute okay? Don't laugh or make a sound." Harry told her as he started to sneak around the corner. He saw that the two where still seemingly stuck together, going at each other as though life depended on it. He managed to get rather close to them before he spoke, actually it was more like a yell.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" Harry yelled in his deepest voice as loud as he could. Ron and Hermione both jumped half way to the moon and looked at Harry with horrified faces. They grew incredibly pale at the sight of Harry's face. He had managed to put on a very angry face and looked like he was about to blow his top. They where so pale that Harry thought they looked like ghosts. He wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer. All of a sudden the two of them started talking at once, each trying to explain to Harry what he had seen.

"Harry, mate, we wanted to tell you, but we…we….were worried what you might think…"Ron stammered out.

"Yes, yes Harry. We just were going to tell you soon. After we knew for sure that you…" Hermione was almost in tears by this point.

"ENOUGH EXCUSES!" At this Ron looked at the ground and Harry thought that he saw tears almost go down Hermione's face. Now was a good time. "Do you two have any idea how many galleons I lost because of you two? Between the two of us, Ginny and I lost nearly twenty galleons!" At this Harry could no longer contain himself and started to laugh so hard that he nearly fell over. Ron and Hermione looked at him with disbelief, then turned to see Ginny walking over towards them also laughing profusely hard. Disbelief turned into anger as Ron and Hermione figured that a joke had been played on them. And both of them had fell for it like a ton of bricks. Ron started to laugh as well, at least until Hermione stamped on his foot. While Ron was nursing an injured foot, Hermione turned her wrath to Harry and Ginny.

"Harry! Ginny! How could you! Do you have any idea as to how scared we both where? And what do mean that you lost money because of us?"

"Well, Hermione this is how it happened. There was a bet going on in the whole Gryffindor house that you two would be together by the end of the year. When you didn't Ginny and I lost are side of the bet, along with the rest of the sixth years all of the seventh years and some fifth years. Everyone else thought you two wouldn't be together." Explained Harry. At this Ron couldn't help but ask,

"Mate, how much money in total was bet do you think?"

"Uh, well, I'd say somewhere between three and four hundred galleons." At light of this information Ron's mouth dropped.

"Well, that is incredibly rude of people to bet on us like that!" Hermione added her obvious discomfort to that information. But she didn't say anymore about the gambling affair, instead she asked Harry a question.

"Harry, you don't mind do you? Because if you do…" before Hermione could finish what she was going to say Harry interrupted her.

"Of course I don't mind Hermione! I'm happy for you two. I had a feeling that this might happen one day anyways. The way that I figured it, either I or Ron would ask you out one day. Thankfully Ron did, otherwise I wouldn't be dating his sister. Why in the world would doubt that I wouldn't mind?"  
"Well, mate we were worried that it might cause a strain on our friendship." Ron explained timidly.

"Ron, Hermione, I think that this talk has gone on long enough. Though I do say that this has been a very interesting day for all of us. Hey, Ron, did you see how that guy…" with that Ron and Harry went off to discuss the battle that they had witnessed earlier in the day, while Ginny and Hermione went off to discuss things that only girls talk about, things that only girls can understand.


	6. Chapter 6 Owls and Letters

-Chapter 6 is finally up and next chapter the group will leave for school, I promise. Thanks to MimsicalDream for the review, and yeah your right. That is my bad and I've made a note it. Oops. Humor is always a good thing right? Well, I think that there is a little bit of that here.

Chapter 6 – Owls and Letters

Now that the wedding was over, the four friends had no choice but to think about returning to school. Everyday they anxiously awaited the owls that would bring them their book list for the classes that they where taking. When came to the two week mark before school would usually resume, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny sat around the table eating their breakfast. Every couple of minutes at least one of them would look at the window, hoping to see an owl with the letters. After one such instance, Ron was the first to break the silence that had befallen the table.

"I don't think that they'll be reopening the school. If they where we should have gotten our letters by now, don't you think?"

"I'm starting to agree with you Ron. They should have sent us our letters already! This will be just horrible if we can't go back to school! I was looking forward to taking the NEWTs this year too." Said Hermione. Harry and Ron looked at each other with smirks on their faces. Hermione was the _only_ person that they knew who would be excited to take a test, especially the NEWTs. Ginny just sat there staring intently at the window.

"I wonder why they wouldn't reopen the school this year? Would it because of happened to Dumbledore?" asked Ron, who then immediately regretted what he had just said when he saw Harry's face. At the mention of Dumbledore, emotions that Harry had managed to lock away for the past couple of weeks were set free to wreak on Harry's mind. Tears started to form on Harry's eyes, both feelings of guilt and grief settled on him at once. The scene in which Dumbledore was killed kept replaying it self over and over again. Then he saw one face fill his whole mind. A face that Harry had hated for years and years. Severus Snape was smirking and laughing at Harry. When he saw that face, Harry was filled with rage.

"Harry! Harry!" Harry was brought back to this world as though he was in a dream. He blinked and looked around, but before he could he noticed that his hand was hurting him. He looked at it to what had happened to it. He was gripping his fork so hard that it had cut into his hand and it started to bleed. He looked down at the table and saw several wet spots where tears had fallen. He released the fork and took a deep breath. Ginny was really close to him and had a really worried look on her face.

"Harry, are you all right?" she asked in a really soft tone. Harry looked at her a gave a weak smile.

"Yeah, I'm all right Ginny. When Ron mentioned…mentioned Dumbledore it was like a flood of emotion hit me. Hit me hard. I saw the scene over and over again. I was there frozen like a statue, unable to help Dumbledore. Malfoy was standing there and then Snape…" at the mention of Snape's name once again he felt a surge of rage, but managed to control it this time, "came and killed him. _Killed him_ in cold blood, after everything that Dumbledore had done for him. When I see him again, that will be the last time either one of us will see each other! I just wish that Dumbledore was still hear to help us. I really need his help finding those accursed Horcruxes." This time Harry wasn't quite as able to control the anger he felt as his fist slammed the table. Ginny grabbed Harry's arm with her small hands.

"Harry, please calm down. Everything will be all right, I promise." Ginny whispered in his ear. Harry turned to look at her, grateful to have someone like her by his side. He smiled at her, indicating that he was clam once again. Ginny kissed him to give him reassurance then sat back down. Harry looked back at Ron and Hermione, but became confused when he saw them. Both of them where looking past him with looks of pure surprise on their faces. Curious he turned around to see what they where looking at. When he saw what they where looking at, his first instinct was to run, run as far away as he could. He wanted to run because in the doorway to the kitchen stood Mrs. Weasley with the biggest look of shock on her face, along with Fred and George Weasley behind her looking in. Smiling nervously he started to talk.

"Good Morning Mrs. Weasley, Fred and George."

"Mum, I can explain this…" Ginny started to say, but never got the chance to finish because Mrs. Weasley fainted on the spot. Fortunately Fred and George where able to catch her. They then carried her to the couch and went back to the kitchen. They got back before Harry could make a run for it.

"I think you killed her from the shock of what we just saw Ginny and Harry." Said Fred.

"Oh yes. Ginny smooching the great Potter certainly shocked me." Said George.

"George, I think that something needs to be done to the Potter boy." Said Fred.

"I think your right Fred. Smooching on our baby sister! And we catch you at it! Let's get him!" both Fred and George made a start for Harry. Before they reached the table he managed to get away and ran for the door with the twins close on his tail. Ginny wasn't far behind cursing the day-lights out of Fred and George. Ron and Hermione just looked at each other and started to laugh.

"At least no one knows about _us_ yet, right?" Ron asked Hermione.

"Yes that's right. Hopefully your mother won't find out about that like she did Harry and Ginny." Hermione said as she gave Ron a kiss on the cheek. When she was back at her seat, both Ron and Hermione heard a thud. They looked towards the door to the kitchen, and there was Mrs. Weasley on the floor. She had recovered from seeing Ginny and Harry, walked into the kitchen then heard, and saw, Ron and Hermione's conversation. Ron looked at Hermione with a long face.

"This is going to be a long day." Ron said. Just then they heard a tap at the window. There were a couple of owls with letter for Ron, Hermione, Ginny, two for Harry and one for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

"I stand corrected. This is going to be a _very_ long day." Said Ron as he grabbed the letters from the owls. With their burdens gone, the owls got a drink of water from Ron and took flight. Ron and Hermione opened their letters at the same time, Ron's poor mother temporarily forgotten on the floor of the kitchen. Hermione squealed with delight as she read her letter. School would be starting once again as normal. But that wasn't all she was happy about. She had been made Head Girl. When Ron heard it, he wasn't at all surprised. Both he and Harry, and the rest of the seventh years in all the houses had expected it to happen.

"Congratulations Hermione. You earned it." Ron said half-heartedly. He felt really disappointed. He hadn't been made Head Boy. Bill, Charlie and Percy had all been Head Boys, and Ron believed that his parents where expecting the same of him.

"What's the matter Ron?" asked Hermione.

"Nothing, nothing at all. Let's help my mum to a chair." Ron said, who then finally remembered that his mother was on the floor fainted away. Between the two of them they managed to get Mrs. Weasley to the couch when the door opened.

"Hello! I'm home early today. The ministry decided to give me a day to recuperate." Mr. Weasley had come home. If Hermione wasn't standing there, Ron would have let fly a thousand curses at that moment, instead he looked at Hermione with a look of defeat on his face. Ron turned around as Mr. Weasley walked into the room. When he got into the room, he stood there looking at his wife, laying there on the couch with Ron and Hermione beside her. Then turned around when he heard the door open and slam shut, closely followed by cries of "Come back here and face us like a man Harry!" which was in turn followed by a curse from a voice that was no others than Ginny's. All four of them came to a screeching halt when they saw Mr. Weasley standing there.

"I think you all need to do some explaining right here right now." Mr. Weasley said.

"I told you this would be a long day." Ron whispered to Hermione.

"Dad we can explain this…all of this. Even why Mum fainted." said Ginny.

"Oh, please do tell." Said Mr. Weasley as he sat down in a chair. He listened as the six of them related what had happened that morning, Fred and George making sure to iterate what they had seen. Then Ron and Hermione told the second part of the story. When the tale was finished Mr. Weasley looked at the face of each person in the room. He then broke out in a fit of laughing. By now Mrs. Weasley had finally recovered and saw Mr. Weasley laughing.

"Arthur, do you have _any_ idea as to what I saw this morning?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"Yes, yes I do my dear. I just heard the whole story! These past couple of weeks have been rather exciting I must say. I marry off one of my sons, find out my _only _daughter and Harry Potter have a fancy for each other, and that my youngest son actually attracted a girl! Wow, Harry Potter and my only baby girl. This is too much for me. I remember when Ginny first laid eyes on Harry all of those years ago. She was so nervous around him that she couldn't say a single word. Now look at what I fond out…" at this he had to leave the room clutching his stomach as it hurt from him laughing so hard. Mrs. Weasley walked over to where Harry and Ginny where standing. She put her hand on each of their faces and looked at each of their face. Tears where welling up in her eyes, but they where no tears of sadness, they where tears of joy.

"Having you as a son-in-law has been a dream of mine since I first saw you Harry. I always hoped that you would take a fancy to Ginny here. Oh, I shouldn't be talking as though you are getting married though should I?" With that she followed her husband. Fred and George saw that all the fun out of torturing Harry was just taken away also left to return to their joke shop. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny all stood in the living room.

"I told you my mum would over-react didn't I?" Ron told more than asked Harry.

"Yes you did. But from what I gather, your mum was out cold longer when she saw you and Hermione. So you two gave her the biggest shock." Harry countered. Ron just shrugged it off, more to by time for a comeback of his own. Instead he shifted the blame.

"Well, it was the girls who got us caught." Ron said. Harry couldn't help but agree.

"I agree with you mate. The girls really _did_ get us caught." That earned both Ron and Harry a smack to the backside of the head. Even though it didn't hurt, they acted as though it did.

"Oh, before I forget. Here are some letters for you Harry, and one for you Ginny." Hermione said as she went into the kitchen to grab the letter from the table.

"Letters? What letters? Oh, wait, do you mean that the school will be kept open? That's great!" Harry said. Harry felt glad for more than one reason. One was the obvious that he could go back to school. It also meant that he could keep an eye on Ginny in case something happened again at the school. However, Harry also felt disappointed. If he went to school that would drastically cut into his time available for finding and destroying the Horcruxes of Voldemort. Hiding his feelings he opened the first letter. The letter was the Hogwarts letter depicting what books that they would need for the year. Harry took that letter and put it in his pocket. He then picked up the other letter and looked at it. The handwriting on the outside of the envelope was unfamiliar to him. He opened it and pulled out the letter that was inside. There were two letter in the envelope. Harry read the letter that was on top first.

_Dear Harry Potter,_

_Mr. Potter, as you are now seventeen years of age certain legal proceedings have come into age. The matter in question is that of the will of Albus Dumbledore. He has left you several items as well as the letter that is enclosed with this notice. To claim this items bring this letter to Gringotts Bank and hand them this notice. There the necessary paperwork will be completed and the items will turned over to you as your property._

_Graner, Janus_

_Office of Legal Proceedings,_

_Ministry of Magic_

Harry blinked at the letter a couple of times then reread the letter twice, then twice more. He then eagerly switched over to the other letter that had come and recognized Dumbledore's handwriting.

_Dear Harry,_

_Alas, if this letter had reached you, then something terrible has happened to me and certain matters are left unresolved. When I wrote this I don't know if we managed to destroy any Horcruxes, all I know is that I told you what I know of them. I firmly believe that the secret to the items are locked somewhere in Hogwarts past, and the history of Tom Riddle. You will have to unravel the clues that are encased there and I strongly advise you to enlist the aid of Miss Granger as her head is quit keen to these kind of subjects. Hopefully everything that I left to you in my will assist you in your quest. I don't believe you should trust anyone with this matter other than yourself and Ron and Hermione. However, as you will probably have a hard time leaving Hogwarts while I'm not there anymore, you will need to trust Professor McGonagall. I have written a letter to her to explain the situation and your needs. I have left you my pensieve with the memories that it contains. Hopefully there is something in there that can help. I also left you some money so that you can get anything that you might need. Good Luck Harry, and remember the power of love is your best advantage. Figure out how to use it and Voldemort can be defeated. Also, so not dwell on the fact that I am gone for that will not help you. Don't forget me, but don't dwell on me. My death is unfortunate, but is just an obstacle for you to go around. You have been like a son to me Harry, I shall never forget you or think ill of you. Also, you need to finish your education. This will help you in your battle._

_Forever your friend and teacher,_

_Dumbledore_

After reading the letter twice Harry could feel tears start to burn in his eyes. Harry felt a new determination grow inside of him. Dumbledore was right. Dwelling on the past would only hinder him. If he dwelt on the deaths of Sirius and Dumbledore, both of whim had been like fathers to Harry, he wouldn't be able to do anything else that could be productive. Harry closed the letter and put that in his pocket as well. Feelings, that was his edge, his secret weapon against Voldemort. He looked at Ginny who was talking to Ron and Hermione. He loved Ginny in a special way. He also loved Ron and Hermione, but in a different sense of the word. Those two became his friends, his first friends ever many years ago. Without them Harry more than likely wouldn't be alive. But the same went for them, Neither one of those three wouldn't be standing there today if it wasn't for Harry. Hermione would have been squished by a troll- well Harry had Ron's help for that one- Ron would still be in the bottom of the lake, and Ginny –Harry shuddered at the memory- would have been killed by Voldemort. Or rather by one of his Horcruxes and pet basilisk. Harry walked over to the three of them and hugged all of them, giving Ginny a small kiss on the cheek.

"What was that for Harry?" asked Ron after Harry had finished. Harry looked at them and smiled.

"Because I got a letter from Dumbledore as part of his will," Harry paused for a moment as both Hermione and Ginny gave a small gasp in surprise and the continued, "and after reading it, I realized something. That none of us would be standing here today if it wasn't for one of the others. We've all saved each others lives more than once. Because of that we are all good friends. And that is the advantage we have over Voldemort. He doesn't have friends or loved ones, while we do. Now, I think that we need to go to Diagon Alley and get our books." Arm in arm the four friends headed for the door as they planned on apparating to Diagon Alley. As they were leaving they heard Mrs. Weasley shriek. She had just opened the letter that contained a letter stating that Dumbledore had left several thousand galleons to the Weasley family and that the amount had already been transferred to the family vault.

"I swear that at the rate this morning has gone, your mom going to have a heart attack by the end of the day Ron." Stated Harry before they left.

"Like I said, this is going to be a very long day." Ron said as he and Hermione vanished into the air. Holding Ginny close to his side since Ginny didn't have her apparition license, Harry followed suit and disappeared into the air, leaving Mr. Weasley to deal with a Mrs. Weasley who for the third time that day had fainted away.


End file.
